under the knife: Chapter 1
by DoomyDoom
Summary: Gaz and Zim become friends. Woo.
1. Chapter 1:A Friendship Broken

Chapter 1: A Friendship Broken  
  
Bright, shining lights glared into the small Irken's eyes. Although they were as bright as the sun itself, they seemed to cast a cold chill on Zim's body. His arms and legs were tightly bound down on the table as if he were the prisoner of some savage, primitive sacrifice. In a matter of time; the dark room would be full of onlookers, watching the Zim guts being strewn on the table, ripped from him, and would be used in experiments as if he were some sort of animal. It wouldn't matter to them that he was intelligent, it wouldn't matter he had a soul, it wouldn't matter he had feeling, and it wouldn't matter that he was alive. All they could see was a horrible monster, ripped apart for their enjoyment and wonder. At the time, one would expect Zim's eyes to be full of fear, dread, and nervousness at the moment. But now, the two, bright rubies were burning with the fires of hate and betrayal.  
  
"How did I get here?" Zim asked himself. But the answer was obvious. Her. She had betrayed him.  
  
Ever since he had landed on Earth, Zim had never had any friends but GIR, if you could even call the little robot that. Obviously, he could provide some companionship; his diligent watching of the Scary Monkey show would always put Zim on edge. However, he really didn't have any choice. It wasn't like any of the kids at Skool could really be his friend. He had tried once, and Keef turned out to be worse than GIR after downing a whole bag of sugar. Plus, in his mission of World Domination, friends would only get in the way. So he remained alone. At least, until one, fateful day...  
  
"GIR! YOU LEFT THE DOOR OPEN AGAIN!" Zim shrieked "DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME YOU DID THAT?! I HAD TO GO INTO THAT STINK PIG DIB'S HEAD AND ERASE HIS MEMORY!" His voice twitched a bit on stink pig and Dib. "THAT'S IT! NO CHOCOLATE BUBBLE GUM FREEZIES FOR A WEEK! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"  
  
However, Zim realized that GIR could not hear him because he wasn't there. In fact, GIR wasn't in the house at all. Zim wasn't worried. It's not like this was the first time this had happened. He was probably off dancing or with some hot girls. Zim closed the open door with a shrug. He may have dismissed it at first, but, after 3 days, GIR still wasn't home and Zim was feeling lonely. Also; the fact that Dib was giving him extra dirty looks at lunch wasn't helping.  
  
Finally, after a week of GIR's absence, Zim decided to go looking for him. It was obvious by now that GIR was at Dib's house, no doubt about it. However, the thought that he couldn't just walk over to Dib's house and merely ask for GIR back crossed his mind. Dib would want something in return, mainly, Zim's body dissected. As he was about to flush himself down the toilet to upgrade his pak, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"What madness is this?" Zim thought aloud, walking to the door. It had better not be Dib with a ransom note. However, to his surprise, it wasn't Dib at all. It was his sister. Gaz, with GIR at her side, munching on a cupcake.  
  
"GIR! You're home!" Zim cried. He never thought he would be happy to see the small robot, which shocked him a bit.  
  
"Look master! Gaz gave me a cupcake!" GIR said, holding up the wrapper that remained. Realizing he ate it all, the small, defective robot began to cry.  
  
However, at that point, Zim wasn't paying much attention to GIR. His eyes were fixated on Gaz, who, of course, was playing her Game Slave. After the 'level complete' music started playing, she looked up.  
  
"I like the color of your eyes. They look much better than those stupid contacts you wear." She said nonchalantly. Zim quickly put his hands to his head and winced, realizing he had forgotten to put on his wig and contacts before stepping out. However, this wasn't the only thing about Gaz's words that surprised him. She had known all along. She may have been the only stink beast besides Dib that had known. She, however, was much different than her brother.  
  
"Why..." Zim started, but was soon interrupted by Gaz.  
  
"Dib stole my pizza again yesterday. I decided ruining his plans was more effective than dooming him yet again." However, from the sort of nervous tone to her voice, Zim suspected this wasn't the only reason.  
  
"Wow...eh...thanks." He said, as GIR ran inside to watch TV.  
  
"Whatever." Said Gaz as she left, her fingers quickly pressing buttons.  
  
The next day at Skool, another surprising thing happened. Instead of sitting in her normal seat next to Dib, Gaz moved to Zim's usually empty table. She claimed that she was no longer on speaking terms with Dib, and all the other tables were full, and those were the only words spoken between them for the rest of the period. However, as the days went on, Gaz continued to sit at Zim's tables, despite the dirty looks they were both getting from Dib. At first Zim thought this was just a simple ploy to piss off her brother, but he soon saw that this was not the case. Every day, the two began saying a bit more to each other as Gaz furiously hammered the buttons. Soon, their conversations got to where Gaz would stop playing her Game Slave (only for a moment or two of course).  
  
In no time at all, they had become, what people on earth called friends. Strangely enough, it was hate that brought them together. Not hate for each other, but hate of the world, the people in it, the stupid things they do, and, most of all, Dib. On warm, sunny days, they would lie in the grass and look for clouds shaped like monsters and they would get into long, gory discussions about how it would eat Dib. Zim would tell Gaz about his planet, his mission, and how incredibly short he was, and, every time, she would listen. Never did Zim imagine that a human could be so....so.....nice.  
  
Everything was going perfectly...until one day. At Skool, in his locker, Zim found a small, hand written, note. As he opened it, it said:  
  
Meet me after school behind my house. I have a surprise for you.  
  
"A surprise?" Zim thought. No one on this planet had given him anything but grief before. For the rest of the day Zim watched the clock, re-read the note, and imagine as Ms. Bitters droned on about how they were living wasteful, meaningless lives. When the bell rang, Zim quickly dashed out of Skool. Unfortunately for him, he missed the wicked smile on Dib's face.  
  
"Gaz...are you here?" He called into the empty backyard upon arriving at her house. "Strange..." He though, but his thought changed quickly when a large, metal cage dropped on him from above. In both surprise and shock, Zim began shaking the bars and cursing in his native tongue. However, a well aimed rock to the back of the skull stopped the ranting as he lost consciousness. The last thing he remembered was Dib's cruel laughter, and feeling stupid, hurt, and betrayed. 


	2. Chapter 2: Escape

Chapter 2: Escape  
  
Slowly, the door creaked open, causing Zim to jump with surprise. A shadow drifted into the room, resembling an evil demon. What actually came in, however, was much worse. Dib slid into the room, carrying a tray of assorted instruments, each one seeming sharper and pointier than the next as they gleamed in the artificial lights of the room. However, the scariest thing in the room was not any of the bizarre instruments; instead, it was Dib's smile, now resembling that of an alligator.  
  
"Hello Zim. I see that you're comfortable." He said with an awful, gloating grin. Zim averted his fiery eyes to the other side of the room. He refused to see the pleasure in Dib's face, let alone give him any more. The fact that Dib had won was enough to make Zim's head explode with hate.  
  
"I told you that it would simply be a matter of time, my dear Zim." Dib said coolly, as he placed the tray next to the table Zim was restrained to. "We both knew it would come to this. Me, finally getting the respect I so very deserve and you." An evil smile spread across his face and Dib seemed to be beside himself with happiness. "Will finally be cut up on an autopsy table. Oh, this will be so great. Maybe the WILL name the autopsy video after me, air it on TV and then, I will have the respect I so deserve."  
  
At these words, Zim gave Dib a look of pure hatred and venom. However, at the time, his hate for Dib was nothing compared to that of his hate for Gaz. But right now, all he wanted to do was leap from his restraints and latch his claws to Dib's neck, squeezing until Dib's head popped, leaving a bloody mess all around this room.  
  
"As you may have or have not guessed you're in one of the basement rooms of the Swollen Eyeball society's secret underground base. Neat huh? In about a half an hour, they will see I was right all along and your screams shall be heard from miles and miles away." At this point, Zim couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"SHUT YOUR NOISE HOLE STICK BEAST!! I WILL NEVER GIVE YOU THE PLEASURE OF THAT!!! YOU MAY THINK THAT YOU'VE WON, BUT JUST WAIT!! I'LL GET YOU AND YOUR SISTER!" At the mention of his sister, Dib's smile tripled in size.  
  
"Did you think she actually liked you in the first place?" His voice was that of a serpent. "Yes, Zim, It was all a set up. When I first mentioned the idea to her, she refused to be anywhere near that "dorky alien." But when I told her I'd buy her the new Game Slave 3 and pizza for a year, she agreed. From her, I got all the information about you and your freaky little planet. And that brings me here, where all I have left to do is take a peek inside." His eyes gloated and jeered at the hurt expression on Zim's face. How he loved seeing Zim's agony and pain. Every sign of defeat on his face was a small victory for Dib. For years he had dreamed of this moment, finally getting an alien, and fame seemed closer than ever before. The power he had over Zim gave him an overwhelming sense of superiority.  
  
"Gargantuan headed fool boy." Replied Zim plainly. He was too pained to put the usual vigor and emphasis in his words. Dib had hit him where it really hurt, his heart, or, at least the Irken equivalent of one. The mere thought that Gaz, his seemingly best friend, betraying him felt worse than any festering wound. He felt as if he had been stuck with a hundred knives and needles, each deeply embedded in his body. It was no use hiding these feelings because Dib knew; he knew he was in terrible, terrible emotional pain.  
  
"Whoops, almost forgot," Dib said as his eyes strayed to the tray. "I left out a few tools. I'll be right back." Zim's eyes followed Dib to the door. Suddenly, Dib stopped and turned around, with an unpleasant smile at Zim. "Now, don't you go anywhere Zim." He said, before slipping through the door. His footsteps could be heard echoing down the hall until Zim knew he was gone.  
  
At that moment, Zim's hatred turned to fear. Every threat of his "Impending Doom" that Dib had ever made filled his mind. Random threats and curses grew like a weed into his thoughts. Every gory picture of his body being ripped apart and mangled increased the speed of his breathing to higher and higher levels. These, the things he had once laughed at and had put down as simply madness. Never, in his wildest dreams did he ever believe that Dib would catch him, an invader.  
  
His eyes turned to the tray that Dib had brought in earlier. He examined each instrument and imagined how they would pierce his skin, splatter his blood, and prod his insides. His eyes stopped on the scalpel, which he could almost feel tearing painfully and slowly down his chest. The thought of the unbearable pain that would spread throughout his body made him feel queasy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop these thoughts from flashing over and over again in his mind.  
  
"Will I scream?" He thought "Will the pain be THAT bad? Oh mighty Irk please don't let me scream. I cannot show weakness and let that little weasel gloat."  
  
However, even if he was able to bear the autopsy, he was still doomed. If he did survive it, Dib would know his weaknesses. He could get put through terrible torture, or worse, he could be put in, A ZOO! It was then he knew he had to get out. The question was, how?  
  
Suddenly, Zim remembered his backpack and the spider legs. On his thought, one of the legs shot out and proceeded to pick the locks of his restraints. Quickly, he began his tack, knowing that any second; Dib could burst through the door and dash any hopes of escaping, let alone living. In a few minutes, he had unlocked them all, and so far, so god, no dib. As he pulled his foot from the final restraint, the door creaked open. In came Dib, carrying a particularly nasty looking probe in his hand. However, at the sight of the empty table, he soon dropped this probe. He was in such a shock that he didn't see a flash of two bright, ruby ovals, or hear the closing of the door.  
  
"What, where..." Dib stuttered as he walked towards the table. "No, no, no, no," Dib cried as he pounded the table. However, he was soon interrupted by a cry and an attack from behind. As Dib had come into the room, Zim had slipped onto the ceiling with assistance of his spider legs, shut the door silently, and was waiting fro his moment. At that point, he quickly leapt from the ceiling and pinned Dib to the table.  
  
"ZIM!" cried Dib. "How...you were....I was...but...."  
  
"SILENCE!" Zim shrieked with a renewed sense of vigor. "I told you that you didn't know what you were dealing with, Dib. Despite your foolish efforts, I was still able to escape. I'm not called an invader for nothing. You thought you had complete control, didn't you Dib? You thought you finally had me. Well it seems now it is I, ZIM, who has the upper hand as of late." Zim's eyes flamed with the fires of delight. Dib's every squirm fed his lust for vengeance over his enemy. For the first time in a while, Zim actually felt, Happy.  
  
Wh...what are you going to do to me Zim?" Dib stuttered. Only a few moments ago the Irken was at his complete mercy, but now, the table had turned.  
  
"Nothing now Dib. There are too many people here. If they see something has killed you, they'll know you were right. However, if I leave you here, without proof, they'll just dismiss you as crazy yet again. But..." Zim paused for a second and picked up one of the knives on the tray. "Someday, you'll know how it feels to be on the operating table, Dib." Zim grinned viciously as he pointed the knife in Dib's direction and made a slicing motion across his throat.  
  
"But...I'm not the alien...You are!" Dib cried as he struggled under Zim's grasp.  
  
"You are on my planet." Zim said coolly. With that, Zim took off down the hall as Dib fainted, too shocked to follow. 


End file.
